socialmedian: David Colbert: Publishing's Next Big Thing and Its Next Big Headache, Part I

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David Colbert: Publishing's Next Big Thing and Its Next Big Headache, Part I

Source: Huffington Post

Nov 07, 2009

Summary

A contractual problem threatens the ebook business of all the major publishers.

It begins with the next big thing in book publishing: advertising.

Have you used any free iPhone apps that generate revenue for their creators by running small ads above or below the apps' primary content?

Have you seen photos of the Barnes & Noble Nook ereader, with its second, independent display that's capable of showing advertisements?

A reader spends a lot of time with a book. Ads will have time to sink in. That makes the medium valuable. Google isn't getting into the book business for charity.

But before book publishers can enjoy ad revenue, they need to solve a big problem:

Most modern publishing contracts state that publishers may not sell advertising with their books.

That restriction appeared in the early 1970s, when cigarette companies started an intense program of buying insert ads in paperbacks. (Lorillard Tobacco, which may have been the first, began its program in August 1971 with 12 million inserts spread over 156 titles.)

Authors objected. In time, advertising restriction

...Read the full article

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